Fire Cloud...An irregular marking on the exterior of Native American pottery: usually resulting from burning fuel coming in direct contact with the vessel during firing

Monday, 27 July 2009

Rafting Hell's Canyon

The Mouth of the Columbia River

I think I have just talked Mrs. Phred into a three-day raft trip on the Snake River though Hell's Canyon. We're waiting for a call back on availability from this outfitter . Just driving up the coast and looking at beautiful beaches and overlooks is beginning to pall. Some Class IV rapids and sleeping in tents at night might on the Snake river might liven things up. The trip begins about an hour west of Portland. We're waiting to hear if they can work us in.

This is the Columbia River. It's so big here that it has waves that break on the shore and sandy beaches.

We did a tour of Fort Stevens today. It was established to thwart the British in the event that they decided to enter the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. On the night of June 21, 1942, Fort Stevens saw its only action when a Japanese submarine (the I-25) fired 5.5 inch shells in the vicinity of the fort. The shelling caused no damage. The Fort Commander refused to allow return fire. The incident made Fort Stevens the only installation (in the Continental US) to be attacked by an enemy since the War of 1812. You could argue that the 9/11 incident was another attack on the continental US, if you feel that a handful of ignorant and mis-guided criminals deserve to be elevated to the serious category of "enemy".

Tomorrow we tour Astoria. They have a number of interesting looking museums and a 14 block river walk that we want to do. Just down the road is a portion of the Lewis and Clark trail that one can hike and imagine exploring an unknown continent.